executive coaching

A few weeks ago, I told you about my friend Laurie Foley who moved into hospice when it became clear there were no treatment options available for her ovarian cancer. I shared with you that I began to ask myself the powerful questions:

What am I doing with myself and my work?

How do I want to show up?

Is there any place I’m hiding?

Where can I be more real? More raw? More true?

Being me, I undertook a intensive review of these questions and coached myself like a pro.

And in the course of my investigation, I got all up in my own business around an idea I’d had last spring and hadn’t really moved on.

See, it was a big idea, and at the time I came up with it I had a vision of how it needed to be delivered. But, technology wasn’t my friend and that approach had to be scuttled.

Then, I sat on it.

For a while.

Then, picked it back up and considered a new approach.

Which fizzled.

Then, I lost interest.

Or, maybe it just got too complicated.

Or, maybe I was afraid of putting this big idea out there.

But when I asked myself: “What am I doing with myself and my work?”, I knew I had to get this project going.

Then a friend asked me – when I was complaining about some minuscule vexation: “If it was you in hospice, what would you want people to know?”

It’s made up of fourteen webinars on subjects I know inside and out. Fourteen subjects you need to know about to be successful today. Subjects like how to build a network, what to do when you’re stuck, managing toxic work situations, reducing stress and many more.

With each class you’ll get access to the live webinar, a recording of the class, a transcript and worksheets.

It feels big to me. Sort of a legacy piece.

[Taking a deep breath and letting it out slow.]

Take a class or two – the first one on networking is available to all with no charge – and maybe, just maybe, you’ll learn something that will make a difference in your life and work.

Due dates, deadlines, status updates, pressure – the pace is frenetic and the intensity is off the charts.

And that’s for parents of pre-schoolers.

Your life is pretty daggone intense and fast, too.

Even your favorite executive coach feels the pressures of workload, but fortunately I have plenty of tactics and skills to bring to bear when the speed gets to be a little too…overwhelming.

First thing I do?

Take a break.

I know, I know – “bear down, get through it, push, shoulder to the wheel” – but, really, no. Taking a small stop when things are hectic is a sure way to prevent errors.

Like, let’s say you’re using a crane to lift a piano out of a third floor apartment, so you pause right at the window to make sure you’re at the precisely correct angle. Just a pause before you go forward. Before you scrape the entire left side or, heaven forbid, totally shatter the instrument.

You take a minute and you check.

So that’s why I haven’t written in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been taking a wee pause to make sure:

– I want to keep writing

– I know what it is I want to say

– I understand how it is I want to write

And, it occurs to me that I could use your perspective.

You see, since 2005, when I started a monthly newsletter (and a special shout out to the 52 of you who read that first issue – I have a list, I know who you are, and I really appreciate your continued steadfastness), I have written with an eye toward what you, the reader, would like to hear. To find a topic, I’ve often thought, “Two of my readers are having coffee today… What are they talking about?”

There are times in your life – specific days or maybe even entire weeks – you will always remember. Weeks which are indelible, with so much happening, full of such a feeling of profound change.

This past week was that kind of week for me.

On Monday, I unveiled a new look for my website – MicheleWoodward.com – designed to make things simpler and easier for you to find and enjoy. To me, it’s gorgeous, and powerful. Inviting. And just what I wanted, thanks to the talented Victoria Potts Keale, my Everything Web guru who pulled off an amazing feat in an incredibly short period of time.

Because, you see, I had learned on Friday that The Wall Street Journal would be running a feature on my work with a client on Wednesday of the next week, and I wanted my site to be ready to handle the people who’d come to check me out. And, boy, they came by the boatloads. Folks signed up for the newsletter, sent me messages via email and LinkedIn, and said, “atta girl” profusely on Facebook and Twitter.

The client, Becky Johnson, also received a lot of love from her friends, colleagues and even strangers, including a heartfelt phone call from a reader on the West Coast – just to say how inspired she’d been by Becky’s journey.

Although client confidentiality is in my marrow and I never disclose who I’m working with unless the client discloses first, when the WSJ reporter contacted me to see if I had a good story to tell about a client who made a career breakthrough after getting coached, I immediately thought of Becky. How thrilled was I that both she and her CEO, Lisa Gable, agreed immediately to participate. Their openness and generosity allowed thousands if not millions of people to see that there might be a new way to manage leadership growth within organizations. They saw Lisa and Becky’s success and learned from it. Maybe they’ll even model it.

And, for the curious, all the work Becky and I did together consisted of five coaching sessions. Five. Hours. With some email thrown in there. Five hours and Becky got promoted to VP.

For long time readers, you know I love being a coach. But having a story like Becky’s out in public reminds me about why I deeply love this work. It’s transformational. It’s positive. It’s powerful.

And it works.

Can you say that about your job?

I sure wish you could. Wouldn’t that be something?

This busy past week I also interviewed Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas, retired), who was the youngest woman in history to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Blanche talked about how she ended up in public service, and how she managed to chair the Senate Agriculture Committee while raising twin toddlers. Seems we like to beat up on politicians these days, but listen to Blanche talk about her work with heart, and passion, and you’ll understand her drive to serve – it’s inspiring. Take a listen: WiseWork radio show

This week, too, I am launching my Annual Coaching Program for 2014. It’s a rather novel approach to coaching – a deep dive into whatever you want to transform with all the coaching your schedule will allow. I tested the program with six clients this year, and I have to admit – the successes have been compelling. And amazing. And, once again, I am reminded how much I love what I do. Look at the information page for more details, and let me know if you have questions.

And people have started using the 2014 Personal Planning Tool which is up and ready for your use. It’s a downloadable pdf worksheet you can use to review 2013 and make a solid plan for what you want to accomplish in 2014. There’s no charge for this 13-page tool – it’s my gift to you.

Because when I stop to think about my legacy and what I hope to create in the world, you figure prominently. I want you to have the success Becky’s found. I want you to be clear, and confident, and visionary, and able to handle crisis. To step up and out, as needed. To make changes where changes will help you, and to have the clarity to go out and do the kind of work you can be proud of.

“So, Michele, it must be nice to be paid to tell people what to do,” says the friend I ran into at the grocery store. I noted the raised eyebrows and head shake, and sensed that he was…amused at my livelihood. “Well, the sad news is that I don’t get to boss anyone – not even my kids, it seems, unless I’m holding their car keys and my wallet. Coaching is more about guiding a client to find the right answers for them.”

As I rolled on down the aisle, I was sort of wincing, wishing I had thrown out a better comeback. C’mon, Michele – What is executive coaching and why does it matter?

“Effective coaching is often a matter of challenging assumptions, and the biggest assumptions often reside in the mind of the person being coached.”

Yes! That’s it! I help people challenge their assumptions so they can get extremely clear. And working from that clarity, take the steps necessary to get the results they need.

[Now I am fully prepared for the produce aisle, thankyouverymuch.]

Case in point: my client Joe. Now, of course his name isn’t Joe, but we’ll call him that to preserve his confidentiality. Joe came to me a couple of years ago to reinvigorate his career. See, after a divorce he’d made a decision to throttle back a little on the career front so he could be a custodial parent. Once one kid was in college and the others nearly finished with high school, he decided to throttle his career back up. He wanted to get promoted, use his leadership skills more and do something more meaningful.

But he had a few assumptions about what was really possible, all tied up in confidence, self-esteem, and comfort with risk-taking – key elements required for effectively putting himself back in the mix. We had to tackle those assumptions and plenty of others as they came up before we could construct the plan that he would execute. And day by day, over about eighteen months, Joe executed on the plan.

And just this week, he said to me, “Michele, this coaching thing has really paid off. I wasn’t so sure there for a bit, but everything we’ve covered has put me where I am.” And the place he’s in is this – the candidate for a new big position internally and being recruited for a big position externally.

A few weeks ago, I sat down and crunched some numbers about my executive coaching practice. Who are my clients, and why do they come to me? How do they come to me? Anyone who’s in business for themselves can benefit from this sort of analysis. I learned:

Since January 1st, I have coached 10 men and 21 women in one-on-one, hour-long sessions. This excludes the laser coaching I do in The Club program, which has 44 members.

Of those 31 individuals, nine were senior executives, and seven were lawyers. Six were senior-level job seekers. Five owned their own businesses. Three were mid-level professionals and one was a coach. The bulk of them came to me by referral from past clients or professional colleagues.

With the exception of the job seekers, everyone wanted pretty much the same thing – “how can I be better at my job? How can I lead better? Communicate better? Manage crisis better? Create a strategy? Build?”

And every single client needed to challenge assumptions. Like the assumption that they are too old. Or too young. Or that the gap on their resume is too large. Or that Charlie won’t change. Or that Charlotte is their mortal enemy. That their lack of a specific degree is a deal-breaker.

That this isn’t the path I thought I’d be taking at this point in my life.

Oh, man, I love my work. I truly do. Because all day long, I’m challenging assumptions. All day long, I’m helping people find a new way.

Each day, with every session that concludes, I see minds opening and possibilities born.